Okolona to interview superintendent candidates

OKOLONA — The three finalists for superintendent of the Okolona schools will attend a town hall meeting March 17.

Okolona School Board president Jerome Smith tells the Chickasaw Journal that the board wants to keep the community informed of the progress toward regaining local control of the schools from the state.

The Okolona district went into conservatorship in February 2010 due to poor academic rankings and financial instability. The school board was dissolved and the superintendents’ post vacated when a state conservator was named.

The district came out from under state sanctions last summer. Smith says the new board has made selecting a new superintendent a top priority.

Officials say nine people have applied for the position and the school board will trim the list to three.